Tips for Choosing Your Tax Accountant

Running a small business properly requires hiring an accountant or accounting firm. This vital position can directly impact the success of your company because it oversees all of your company’s financial decisions, prepares financial documents, and helps manage/create a budget. Because your company’s future is directly tied to its finances, trusting your accountant is essential. Here are a few tips for finding the right certified public accountant (CPA) for your company.

1. You must first realize what type of accounting needs your business has. Look for accountants who specialize in working with businesses that are of similar size to yours. Managing a small business has different demands than managing a large corporation.
2. Your accountant must be comfortable managing all the financial demands of your business. You need to find somebody who has experience working with your industry. For example, if you sell a high volume of products, your accountant must feel comfortable dealing with multiple client transactions.
3. You are hiring an accountant, so remember to treat it like you are hiring for any other position at your company. Bring in multiple candidates and determine which is most qualified to manage your finances.
4. Certification is a must. Your interview process should begin with determining the qualifications of candidate and figuring out if he or she is certified by a recognized public organization. You should easily be able to find qualifications/certifications on the accounting firm’s web site.
5. Your accountant must have a strong understanding of annual changes to tax codes and laws. Stay away from an accountant who does not have significant experience handling business tax preparation, because the last thing your company needs is an audit from the state or IRS.
6. Figure out how much they charge and if their payment schedule is based on monthly work, an annual fixed price, or an hourly rate. Also ask about what is included in their basic rate plan and what services cost extra. The cheapest alternative might not always be the best, so do your research and ask them to provide client references (more on that next).
7. Ask each accounting candidate for client references, this way you can get a grasp of how other clients view their accountant. This will also be one more step to figuring out how each individual accountant handles similar sized businesses as yours.
8. Discuss the type of accounting software your business uses to make sure your accountant will be comfortable using it.

Using these eight tips as a guideline, you should be able to find an accountant that fits well with your business’ financial demands. However, retaining an accountant can also help you in the event your business requires unexpected financial advice. Such events can include the need for forensic accounting or helping with a split/sale of your business.